In Context: 5 Web Perspectives On A Story In The News

Indian university, Ericsson sign pact for education using 3G

(Sify News) The Indira Gandhi National Open University has signed on with telecom company Ericsson to provide educational content using state-of-the-art wireless technology. The university which has 2.5 million students enrolled, will use 3G wireless technology to reach 1,000 student pursuing a certificate course in information technology. The university says it plans to roll the technology out to all courses following a 6-month pilot project.

1.

Technology in schools: Suggestions from the U.S. Department of Education.

National Center for Education Statistics
This guide was written by the National Forum on Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education. Directed toward state and local education agencies, it "describes how to measure technology use by examining planning and policies; finance; equipment and infrastructure; technology applications; maintenance and support; professional development; and technology integration."

2.

New Technology High School – a high school for the “New Economy”

New Technology High School
This is the homepage of a high school in Napa, California that has invented itself around the concept of educating students facing the New Economy. The school concentrates on preparing students for a technologically advanced economy and seats each student in front of his or her own personal computer. Students partake in "project-based learning," preparing websites and PowerPoint presentations instead of more traditional text based reports.

3.

An independent school safety corporation says no cell phones in schools

National School Safety and Security Services
National School Safety and Security Services is a private, independent school-safety consulting corporation. Their report says cell phones can detract from school safety and crisis preparedness. The school safety company opposes policies allowing or encouraging students to have cell phones and pagers in school. On a day-to-day basis, the report says, "they are disruptive to the educational environment. This also has been the general position of many school districts over the years. Changing policies under the guise of cell phones being a crisis tool for student safety is, in our opinion, a knee-jerk reaction and is not "the answer" to school crisis preparedness that some may believe it to be."

4.

Cell phones are the Swiss Army knives of educators: Liz Kolb

K12 Online Conference 2009
Liz Kolb is an adjunct assistant professor at Madonna University in Michigan and is finishing her PhD in Learning Technologies at University of Michigan. Her presentation, “focuses on ways to connect students’ favorite digital toy with classroom learning.” She says, cell phones have the capability to become the “Swiss army knife” for student research and organization. Her presentation explores using cell phones as data collection tools: audio recorders, digital cameras, and digital camcorders. It considers how classroom projects can be developed for cell phones: creating ring tones, text messaging, mobile WebPages, and mobile surveys. It concludes by contemplating “the future features of cell phones and how those features play a role in learning.”

5.

Creators of Columbia University's first cell phone class speaks to BlogTalkRadio

BlogTalkRadio
This radio broadcast is a recording of an interview with Nabeel Ahmad and Dominic Mentor, creators of a mobile learning course at Columbia University. Nabeel Ahmad, who received his doctorate in Instructional Technology and Media in May, and Dominic Mentor, a doctoral candidate in the same program, are teaching a course that explores the instructional applications of the ever-present mobile phone. They discuss what they believe to be one of the first formal graduate courses on educational uses of cell phones in the United States.